Curious colours of nature in fashion

Earlier this year, I attended a talk by Abigail Ingram on the subject of ‘structural colours in nature’. She asked important questions like ‘why are some animals and plants brighter than others?’ She also mentioned a few naturally colourful species in passing: the dragonfly, the lavender beetle, the chalk blue butterfly, the shoal fish and the peacock (or at least its feathers).








Apparently, it was Newton (in the 1700s), who first linked the diffraction of light with the structure of peacock feathers. However, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that physicists became fully aware of structural colour.



It’s interesting how in some insects, like butterflies, the dorsal side of the wings is pure colour, but the other side is camouflaged. The males are often very brightly coloured, apparently to ward off others from their territories and not, as Darwin thought, to attract females. Butterfly wings are actually like a multi-layer reflection of colour – of the sort you might see in an oil slick or an opal stone. The morpho butterfly, left, is the perfect example of this – in fact morpho butterfly structures are applied to products such as makeup and there's even a ‘morpho tex fabric’.



As Kate Fletcher explains in her book, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: “Developed by Teijin, Japan, and inspired by the iridescent morpho butterfly of South America, Morphotex achieves its colour by causing light to diffract and interfere with the fibre in ways that can amplify certain wavelengths. This creates brilliant colours to the viewer through the use of physical structure rather than with pigment or dye...






In effect, the surface layers play with light and reproduce a coloured fabric without the energy and resource impacts associated with dyeing and printing. The Morphotex fibre has a multilayer stack structure made up of 61 layers of polyester and nylon, each with different refractive indexes. By controlling the thickness of the layers, it shows variations in the four primary colours: red, blue, green and yellow, according to the angle and intensity of light"

By using nano-scale structures, it's possible to create new paints, fabrics and cosmetics – what’s more they’re free of toxins and require less energy to manufacture. Modern technology also draws upon this phenomenon in nature to create holograms – useful in anti-counterfeiting measures for credit cards. Using a similar technique, brightly coloured sea creatures, called Aphrodite, right, can also be used for optical purposes. Biomimicry is probably the ultimate eco-friendly activity, since it's all about using nature and natural ecosystems as a model for innovative solutions to our own design requirements.

Hopefully, I've got all these facts right ... I'm not an expert on matters of science. In fact, generally speaking, men seem to be much more absorbed by the wonders of modern technology than women. However, biomimetrics is an area where modern technology, practical design and colour coincide - as in the case of these curiously colourful and stylish phone cases by Jack Spade, currently on sale at ShopCurious.










They're rather unique and could be perfect if you're looking for a useful, but unusual gift for any man (or woman) who owns a Blackberry or an iPhone - and who also likes to stand out from the crowd.

Are you?

Goldfingers

Early civilizations equated gold with gods and rulers and, as a result, we almost intuitively place a high value on gold - equating it with power, beauty, and the cultural elite. From the ancient Egyptians to James Bond, gold has shone out as something of special significance.

The pre-Incan Moche civilization in Peru, for instance, sculpted extraordinary items from gold – jewellery, ceremonial vessels and memorial pieces like these gold votive burial hands. Gold was later considered by the Incas to be the ‘sweat of the sun’ that reflected the glory of their sun god and was handcrafted into all manner of stunning adornments for tombs and temples.





More recent evidence of our fascination with gold: Ian Fleming used gold as a theme throughout his Bond novels. Shirley Eaton’s gold makeup in the Goldfinger film apparently took two hours to apply for only five minutes of filming. A doctor was on set at all times in case of possible skin suffocation.







A much safer and quicker means of gilding your fingers (and perhaps your arms too) is with a pair of these gorgeously glamorous vintage gold gloves from ShopCurious. We can’t guarantee that our gold opera gloves will give you the Midas touch, but you’ll look like a movie star without being painted – and with no need for Turkish baths to sweat out the gold from all those pesky little nooks and crannies.



If you’re a fan of unique accessories, you might also like to adorn your fingers with some stylish gold rings, like the ones designed by Sarah Bond for Saretta. These days, you don’t have to blow up Fort Knox for gold, it’s fairly affordable - plus it makes the ultimate romantic gift and can be a great investment too. Hope you’re taking notes Miss Moneypenny.

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Powders and perfumes

It’s said that women started wearing heavy makeup in the 1920s to attract the attention of men, who were in much shorter supply after the First World War. Prior to this, wearing makeup was frowned upon, with pots of rouge and powder puffs being carefully hidden away from husbands and fathers - kept in underwear drawers and applied in secret. Ivory coloured foundation and bright red lipstick soon became the norm – and there were other inventive fashion trends:



For the eyes, in addition to mascara, ladies of the day used a toothpick to apply liquid wax to the ends of each eyelash, giving the impression of a row of tiny pearls. Eyebrows were often plucked out completely and then penciled back on somewhat higher up than nature intended. Other eye makeup included kohl - often made of ingredients like soot, lead, or goose grease – that was smudged all around the eyes, creating a look reminiscent of a vampire. The ‘vamps’ would sometimes add a dramatic line of kohl from the corner of the eye outwards to create a slightly Asiatic look that was considered sexy and bad.




For the face, powder made from rice gave the skin a very pale hue, referred to as “the pallor usually associated with innate vice” by one writer of the time. Portable makeup containers like powder compacts and lipstick holders were the stylish fashion accessories of the day, sometimes even made with precious metals, or encrusted with jewels. The styling for makeup products often took its inspiration from the Orient, like the unique and exotic vintage powder compacts at ShopCurious. Women of the twenties loved to apply their makeup in public at parties and at the dinner table in order to show off their beautiful and unusual compacts.






For the cheeks, red rouge was the order of the day, until advances in manufacturing produced new colours like orange. Girls who worried about the consequences of being found out for wearing makeup resorted to vigorous cheek-pinching instead.



For the lips, red was also the only colour available and was applied to create a ‘cupid’s bow’ above the upper lip. Lipstick often stopped short of the natural crease in the lips to minimize their thickness. Smudgeproof lipstick was essential for vamps who wanted to neck without leaving any evidence.






The invention of modern nail polish in 1920 made varnishing the fingers and toes very popular. Nails were usually worn very long and painted only in the middle, with the tip and cuticle areas left bare.

Of course, ladies also wished to smell beautiful. In 1921 Coco Chanel invented her timeless scent – Chanel No.5. Other scents of the time captured the passions of the age, like the desire to travel to far flung exotic lands that inspired the creation of Guerlain’s Shalimar.







Modern day perfumes, like those from L’Aromarine, successfully capture the memories and mystery of the era - and the art nouveau style bottles are rather chic as well. If you’re lucky, you might even find an authentic 1920s perfume bottle, like the one above, that will look great on your dressing table - these are also highly collectable and can be a great investment too.

Will you?